Ok, calling all Story Tellers! How about a thread on "Lessons Received of Children"?

In Mat 19:14 Jesus said, "… Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven." So what lessons about "the Kingdom" have you learned from kids? What I'm looking for are stories or even just one-liners that came "from the mouth of Babes" that had a significant impact on your heart or communicated a significant spiritual truth to you. These can be funny or sad or just profound, it doesn't matter. We will laugh, cry and marvel with you as you share.

To start off, here is a true story about my youngest son, Taylor, when he was just 4-years old. Taylor is now 12, and has given me permission to "tell his business" so I think I'm ok in doing this.

Btw, since the time of this story, Taylor has had three successful lense transplant surgeries. Taylor's eye Doctor is a wonderful Christian man (Dr Earl Crouch) who regularly donates his time and resources to treating eye diseases in children of third world countries. We have been so blessed to have him and it seems Taylor has received the Lord's full measure of Grace as his vision today is 20/20. Anyway, here is the story.

Taylor, Trains & Child-Like Faith:

Our four-year-old son, Taylor, sees very poorly in his left eye - he has a cataract. This is a very rare condition in children and 10 years ago almost always lead to blindness. He was diagnosed with this condition last week (Nov 15). He must wear a patch over his good (right) eye, until his operation, in January which will replace his cloudy lense with a custom made artificial one. This patching procedure is supposed to make the weaker (left) eye work harder, making it stronger and more able to adapt to the artificial lense once it is in place.

Anyway, Taylor & I (patch & all) were at the Mall in the Train Store - Taylor's favorite place. He was very busy trying to see all the trains in that store and there were many to see and let's face it – He only had one eye! I told him that I needed to talk to the manager and where I would be in the store. While in the store, I was never out of eye-sight of him (I'm 6'4") but he could not always see me.

I was trying to talk to the store manager concerning our next train purchase and did not want Taylor to hear me. As I was talking, I heard Taylor scream, "Daddy!" just once. I ran over to him and he said, "Oh, Hi Daddy, I could not find you and I was scared at first, but then I remembered what you said about Daddys and that you would not leave me." But I could not remember, at the time, telling him "about Daddys", although everything he said was definitely true! So I said, "Taylor, you are right, but when did I tell you that?" "When you sang me that song, about Daddys", he said.

It was then that I remembered the words of a Country song (Randy Travis, I think) that we had sung together about a week ago. The part that he remembered went something like this....

"Daddys don't love their children just every now and then, It's a love that lasts forever, AMEN!"

I had told Taylor that his Heavenly Daddy, just like his earthly Daddy, would always love him and never leave him! Apparently, Taylor understood this although he could not see me. For him, this understanding meant that I was nearby, as I had promised.

Bursting with pride, I gave him a big hug. Taylor hugged back so hard I nearly choked. Taylor felt the wetness of tears on my face and said, "Daddy, your eyes a running - you need a patch like me!"

Sometimes even a four-year-old can so beautifully punctuate the most basic precepts of one's faith. As follower's of Jesus, may we allow Him to "Grow-Us-Up" in Child-like faith and help us walk by that faith - not by sight!

shibboleth

About 3 years ago God gave me a revelation about His unconditional love for all people. I share this knowledge with those who God puts in my path and especially my family.

My daughter, Janis, and I have had many conversations about God and spiritual things. She leans very much towards UR although she attends a Calvary Chapel Church which has a minimal emphasis on hellfire. The sermons I have heard by CCC preachers usually don't say hell but judgment, perish etc.

Anyway, I was very concerned for my grandkids thinking God was a tyrant who tortured people forever. I fretted about how to tell her (she was 6 or 7) that God loved all his creation and everyone would be in heaven one day.

One day I was babysitting her and told her that God loved all people and everyone in the world would be with Jesus whereever that was. She looked at me with a quizzical look and said, "I already knew that, Grandma."

Inside I was doing double takes because she hadn't been polluted by false teaching. Now, whenever the opportunity comes up, I tell her again about Father's unconditional love for all his creatures.

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Average_Bear

I have a 6 yr. son and 8 yr. daughter. Sometimes we sit down together and I read something from the Bible and then we talk about it. The questions they ask never cease to amaze me. One day my daughter caught me totally off guard and asked, "Does God still love the people in hell?" I was dumbstruck, I didn't know how to answer it. You see at the time I still believed in hell and was terrorized by it. I was doubting my own salvation and feared going to hell. Looking back (really, it wasn't very long ago), it was my precocious daughter's insight that I believe the Lord used to begin to open my eyes to the truth. I couldn't answer because there is no answer - there cannot be a hell and a loving God. I praise God that he has led me away from pagan doctrines and into the truth - a truth my daughter seems to have always known.

Wow, Shibboleth and A/B, those kids are VERY bright! Must take after their parents! But, isn't this amazing!? Even 4 and 5 year old kids have a very developed, almost innate, sense of God's Good Nature. Marvelous! But, how do we grow out of this so easily? Grace & Peace, John (the Lamenter)

I'm a bit pressed for time here but I'll share this real quick. Some longer standing members may remember me telling this story before:

When my youngest son was somewhere around 4 or 5, I was tucking him into bed and asked him if he wanted to pray. He did, so he proceeded to pray- for about an hour- out loud- and VERY fervently. This was not a habit for him then or since.

Many thoughts passed through my mind at the time:

Is he doing this just to stay up longer? Is he only copying what he's seen others do?Is he really praying?

But, he prayed some really profound things that night and one of them was this:

"Oh Lord! You're so much bigger than sin!"

At this time, we were hanging around folks who acted like sin was much bigger than God and they had a real sin Consciousness and a condemnation complex, so for my little guy to pray something like that was very interesting...

It set me on a course of experiencing victory over sin instead of fearing it.

shibboleth

jfraysee: How did we get polluted with false teaching? I think it's like the frog in the kettle of warm water that is gradually heated up until it's boiling. A lie about the goodness of God here and there and over time turns us into religious robots who can only mouth what they are told by their denomination. It's easier to go along to get along. That's been my experience and the experience of others I know who are or were in churches.

During the time I was still struggling with the idea of wheather or not ur was true, one evening I was putting my daughter bed. As usual I prayed for her, and that she would 'hear' God and know His love. She was about 4 at the time.

Well around the same time she came to me with hide eyes and said,"Moma, I heerd."

Hey Shibboleth: Agreed, but I can't blame it all on the denominations. The resurgence of Fundamentalism and the Bible itself are not blameless either, but that's just my opinion and is another matter all together.

I believe that when and if something is important in my life, that God will make it both plain and obvious to me. To use a football analogy, He throws the blocks and I run through the holes. This is the ONLY way I've ever "broken through" to anything that I hold as true and meaningful in my life.

As a discernment tool, I look for the "simplicity that is in Christ." (2Cor 11:3). The Bible uses this term three more times in 2 Sam 15:11, Rom 12:8 and 2 Cor 1:12. In all four cases, the term, "simplicity", describes an unfettered or uncomplicated innocence. This is what I look for in Bible Study and my personal walk.

However, children are BORN with an "uncomplicated innocence" and the examples in this thread make this point beautifully!

To protect our kids, we find it necessary to complicate their lives and "take away" their innocence by making them weary of evil. But before this happens, children will many times see the "simplicity that is in Christ" before the (spiritual?) adults that love and care for them.

Take it from me, being "schooled" by someone one-tenth your age is a VERY humbling experience – but such is the Kingdom of God!

jfraysee: How did we get polluted with false teaching? I think it's like the frog in the kettle of warm water that is gradually heated up until it's boiling. A lie about the goodness of God here and there and over time turns us into religious robots who can only mouth what they are told by their denomination. It's easier to go along to get along. That's been my experience and the experience of others I know who are or were in churches.

How did it get polluted? Easy, it starts with kiddies bibles. I just looked at an Afrikaans kiddies bible we still have, my kids are 18 and 15 and I looked at the Genesis story of Adam and Eve. See here for a translation and comments.

It starts in the childhood formative years. Change the POV at 5-8 and you have them trapped in the lies of religion just as the Jews of Jesus' day. The church system and Sunday school's perpetuate the lies and by the time they are 18, fear prevails.

shibboleth

Q. 141. Will the bodies of the dead be raised to life again?A. Yes; "The trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised."

Q. 142. What will become of the wicked in the day of judgment?A. They shall he cast into hell.

Q. 143. What is hell?A. A place of dreadful and endless torment.

Q. 144. What will become of the righteous?A. They shall be taken to heaven.

Q. 145. What is heaven?A. A glorious and happy place, where the righteous shall be forever with the Lord.

These questions are taken from the Westminster Catechism for children. Can you imagine any child being happy in Q145 when in Q143 he is told that all the unrighteous will be in a dreadful place of endless torment. And, to think I was going to teach my grandkids this garbage a few years ago.